461 lines
19 KiB
Markdown
461 lines
19 KiB
Markdown
---
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stage: Verify
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group: Runner
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info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#designated-technical-writers
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type: reference
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---
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# Configuring runners in GitLab
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<!-- This topic contains several commented-out sections that were accidentally added in 13.2.-->
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<!-- The commented-out sections will be added back in a future release.-->
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In GitLab CI/CD, runners run the code defined in [`.gitlab-ci.yml`](../yaml/README.md).
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A runner is a lightweight, highly-scalable agent that picks up a CI job through
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the coordinator API of GitLab CI/CD, runs the job, and sends the result back to the GitLab instance.
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Runners are created by an administrator and are visible in the GitLab UI.
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Runners can be specific to certain projects or available to all projects.
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## Types of runners
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There are three types of runners:
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- [Shared](#shared-runners) (for all projects)
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- [Group](#group-runners) (for all projects in a group)
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- [Specific](#specific-runners) (for specific projects)
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If you are running self-managed GitLab, you can create your own runners.
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If you are using GitLab.com, you can use the shared runners provided by GitLab or
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create your own group or specific runners.
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### Shared runners
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*Shared runners* are available to every project in a GitLab instance.
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Use shared runners when you have multiple jobs with similar requirements. Rather than
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having multiple runners idling for many projects, you can have a few runners that handle
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multiple projects.
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If you are using a self-managed instance of GitLab:
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- Your administrator can install and register shared runners by viewing the instructions
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[here](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/install/index.html).
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<!-- going to your project's
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<!-- **Settings > CI / CD**, expanding the **Runners** section, and clicking **Show runner installation instructions**.-->
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<!-- These instructions are also available [here](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/install/index.html).-->
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- The administrator can also configure a maximum number of shared runner [pipeline minutes for
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each group](../../user/admin_area/settings/continuous_integration.md#shared-runners-pipeline-minutes-quota).
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If you are using GitLab.com:
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- You can select from a list of [shared runners that GitLab maintains](../../user/gitlab_com/index.md#shared-runners).
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- The shared runners consume the [pipelines minutes](../../subscriptions/gitlab_com/index.md#ci-pipeline-minutes)
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included with your account.
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#### How shared runners pick jobs
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Shared runners process jobs by using a fair usage queue. This queue prevents
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projects from creating hundreds of jobs and using all available
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shared runner resources.
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The fair usage queue algorithm assigns jobs based on the projects that have the
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fewest number of jobs already running on shared runners.
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**Example 1**
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If these jobs are in the queue:
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- Job 1 for Project 1
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- Job 2 for Project 1
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- Job 3 for Project 1
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- Job 4 for Project 2
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- Job 5 for Project 2
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- Job 6 for Project 3
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The fair usage algorithm assigns jobs in this order:
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1. Job 1 is chosen first, because it has the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (that is, all projects).
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1. Job 4 is next, because 4 is now the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (Project 1 has a job running).
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1. Job 6 is next, because 6 is now the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (Projects 1 and 2 have jobs running).
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1. Job 2 is next, because, of projects with the lowest number of jobs running (each has 1), it is the lowest job number.
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1. Job 5 is next, because Project 1 now has 2 jobs running and Job 5 is the lowest remaining job number between Projects 2 and 3.
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1. Finally is Job 3... because it's the only job left.
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---
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**Example 2**
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If these jobs are in the queue:
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- Job 1 for Project 1
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- Job 2 for Project 1
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- Job 3 for Project 1
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- Job 4 for Project 2
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- Job 5 for Project 2
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- Job 6 for Project 3
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The fair usage algorithm assigns jobs in this order:
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1. Job 1 is chosen first, because it has the lowest job number from projects with no running jobs (that is, all projects).
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1. We finish Job 1.
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1. Job 2 is next, because, having finished Job 1, all projects have 0 jobs running again, and 2 is the lowest available job number.
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1. Job 4 is next, because with Project 1 running a Job, 4 is the lowest number from projects running no jobs (Projects 2 and 3).
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1. We finish Job 4.
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1. Job 5 is next, because having finished Job 4, Project 2 has no jobs running again.
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1. Job 6 is next, because Project 3 is the only project left with no running jobs.
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1. Lastly we choose Job 3... because, again, it's the only job left.
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#### Enable shared runners
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On GitLab.com, [shared runners](#shared-runners) are enabled in all projects by
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default.
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On self-managed instances of GitLab, an administrator must [install](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/install/index.html)
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and [register](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/register/index.html) them.
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You can also enable shared runners for individual projects.
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To enable shared runners:
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Click **Allow shared runners**.
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#### Disable shared runners
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You can disable shared runners for individual projects<!-- or for groups-->.
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You must have Owner permissions for the project<!-- or group-->.
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To disable shared runners for a project:
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. In the **Shared runners** area, click **Disable shared runners**.
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<!--To disable shared runners for a group:
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1. Go to the group's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. In the **Shared runners** area, click **Disable shared runners globally**.
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1. Optionally, to allow shared runners to be enabled for individual projects or subgroups,
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click **Allow projects/subgroups to override the global setting**.
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-->
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### Group runners
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Use *Group runners* when you want all projects in a group
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to have access to a set of runners.
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Group runners process jobs by using a first in, first out ([FIFO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFO_(computing_and_electronics))) queue.
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#### Create a group runner
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You can create a group runner for your self-managed GitLab instance or for GitLab.com.
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You must have [Owner permissions](../../user/permissions.md#group-members-permissions) for the group.
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To create a group runner:
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1. [Install GitLab Runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/install/).
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1. Go to the group you want to make the runner work for.
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1. Go to **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Note the URL and token.
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1. [Register the runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/register/).
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#### View and manage group runners
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> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab/-/issues/37366/) in GitLab 13.2.
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You can view and manage all runners for a group, its subgroups, and projects.
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You can do this for your self-managed GitLab instance or for GitLab.com.
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You must have [Owner permissions](../../user/permissions.md#group-members-permissions) for the group.
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1. Go to the group where you want to view the runners.
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1. Go to **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. The following fields are displayed.
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| Attribute | Description |
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| ------------ | ----------- |
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| Type | One or more of the following states: shared, group, specific, locked, or paused |
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| Runner token | Token used to identify the runner, and that the runner uses to communicate with the GitLab instance |
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| Description | Description given to the runner when it was created |
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| Version | GitLab Runner version |
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| IP address | IP address of the host on which the runner is registered |
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| Projects | The count of projects to which the runner is assigned |
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| Jobs | Total of jobs run by the runner |
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| Tags | Tags associated with the runner |
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| Last contact | Timestamp indicating when the GitLab instance last contacted the runner |
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From this page, you can edit, pause, and remove runners from the group, its subgroups, and projects.
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#### Pause or remove a group runner
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You can pause or remove a group runner for your self-managed GitLab instance or for GitLab.com.
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You must have [Owner permissions](../../user/permissions.md#group-members-permissions) for the group.
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1. Go to the group you want to remove or pause the runner for.
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1. Go to **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Click **Pause** or **Remove runner**.
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- If you pause a group runner that is used by multiple projects, the runner pauses for all projects.
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- From the group view, you cannot remove a runner that is assigned to more than one project.
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You must remove it from each project first.
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1. On the confirmation dialog, click **OK**.
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### Specific runners
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Use *Specific runners* when you want to use runners for specific projects. For example,
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when you have:
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- Jobs with specific requirements, like a deploy job that requires credentials.
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- Projects with a lot of CI activity that can benefit from being separate from other runners.
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You can set up a specific runner to be used by multiple projects. Specific runners
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must be enabled for each project explicitly.
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Specific runners process jobs by using a first in, first out ([FIFO](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIFO_(computing_and_electronics))) queue.
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NOTE: **Note:**
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Specific runners do not get shared with forked projects automatically.
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A fork *does* copy the CI / CD settings of the cloned repository.
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#### Create a specific runner
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You can create a specific runner for your self-managed GitLab instance or for GitLab.com.
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You must have [Owner permissions](../../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions) for the project.
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To create a specific runner:
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1. [Install runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/install/).
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Note the URL and token.
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1. [Register the runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/register/).
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#### Enable a specific runner for a specific project
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A specific runner is available in the project it was created for. An administrator can
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enable a specific runner to apply to additional projects.
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- You must have Owner permissions for the project.
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- The specific runner must not be [locked](#prevent-a-specific-runner-from-being-enabled-for-other-projects).
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To enable or disable a specific runner for a project:
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Click **Enable for this project** or **Disable for this project**.
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#### Prevent a specific runner from being enabled for other projects
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You can configure a specific runner so it is "locked" and cannot be enabled for other projects.
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This setting can be enabled when you first [register a runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/register/),
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but can also be changed later.
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To lock or unlock a runner:
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Find the runner you want to lock or unlock. Make sure it's enabled.
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1. Click the pencil button.
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1. Check the **Lock to current projects** option.
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1. Click **Save changes**.
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## Manually clear the runner cache
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Read [clearing the cache](../caching/index.md#clearing-the-cache).
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## Set maximum job timeout for a runner
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For each runner, you can specify a *maximum job timeout*. This timeout,
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if smaller than the [project defined timeout](../pipelines/settings.md#timeout), takes precedence.
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This feature can be used to prevent your shared runner from being overwhelmed
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by a project that has jobs with a long timeout (for example, one week).
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When not configured, runners do not override the project timeout.
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How this feature works:
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**Example 1 - Runner timeout bigger than project timeout**
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1. You set the _maximum job timeout_ for a runner to 24 hours
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1. You set the _CI/CD Timeout_ for a project to **2 hours**
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1. You start a job
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1. The job, if running longer, will be timed out after **2 hours**
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**Example 2 - Runner timeout not configured**
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1. You remove the _maximum job timeout_ configuration from a runner
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1. You set the _CI/CD Timeout_ for a project to **2 hours**
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1. You start a job
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1. The job, if running longer, will be timed out after **2 hours**
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**Example 3 - Runner timeout smaller than project timeout**
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1. You set the _maximum job timeout_ for a runner to **30 minutes**
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1. You set the _CI/CD Timeout_ for a project to 2 hours
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1. You start a job
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1. The job, if running longer, will be timed out after **30 minutes**
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## Be careful with sensitive information
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With some [runner executors](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/README.html),
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if you can run a job on the runner, you can get full access to the file system,
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and thus any code it runs as well as the token of the runner. With shared runners, this means that anyone
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that runs jobs on the runner, can access anyone else's code that runs on the
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runner.
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In addition, because you can get access to the runner token, it is possible
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to create a clone of a runner and submit false jobs, for example.
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The above is easily avoided by restricting the usage of shared runners
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on large public GitLab instances, controlling access to your GitLab instance,
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and using more secure [runner executors](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/executors/README.html).
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### Prevent runners from revealing sensitive information
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> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/13194) in GitLab 10.0.
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You can protect runners so they don't reveal sensitive information.
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When a runner is protected, the runner picks jobs created on
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[protected branches](../../user/project/protected_branches.md) or [protected tags](../../user/project/protected_tags.md) only,
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and ignores other jobs.
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To protect or unprotect a runner:
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Find the runner you want to protect or unprotect. Make sure it's enabled.
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1. Click the pencil button.
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1. Check the **Protected** option.
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1. Click **Save changes**.
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### Forks
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Whenever a project is forked, it copies the settings of the jobs that relate
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to it. This means that if you have shared runners set up for a project and
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someone forks that project, the shared runners serve jobs of this project.
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### Attack vectors in runners
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Mentioned briefly earlier, but the following things of runners can be exploited.
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We're always looking for contributions that can mitigate these
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[Security Considerations](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/security/).
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### Reset the runner registration token for a project
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If you think that a registration token for a project was revealed, you should
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reset it. A token can be used to register another runner for the project. That new runner
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may then be used to obtain the values of secret variables or to clone project code.
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To reset the token:
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD**.
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1. Expand the **General pipelines settings** section.
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1. Find the **Runner token** form field and click the **Reveal value** button.
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1. Delete the value and save the form.
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1. After the page is refreshed, expand the **Runners settings** section
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and check the registration token - it should be changed.
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From now on the old token is no longer valid and does not register
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any new runners to the project. If you are using any tools to provision and
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register new runners, the tokens used in those tools should be updated to reflect the
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value of the new token.
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## Determine the IP address of a runner
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> [Introduced](https://gitlab.com/gitlab-org/gitlab-foss/-/merge_requests/17286) in GitLab 10.6.
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It may be useful to know the IP address of a runner so you can troubleshoot
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issues with that runner. GitLab stores and displays the IP address by viewing
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the source of the HTTP requests it makes to GitLab when polling for jobs. The
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IP address is always kept up to date so if the runner IP changes it will be
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automatically updated in GitLab.
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The IP address for shared runners and specific runners can be found in
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different places.
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### Determine the IP address of a shared runner
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To view the IP address of a shared runner you must have admin access to
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the GitLab instance. To determine this:
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1. Visit **Admin Area > Overview > Runners**.
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1. Look for the runner in the table and you should see a column for **IP Address**.
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### Determine the IP address of a specific runner
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To can find the IP address of a runner for a specific project,
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you must have Owner [permissions](../../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions) for the project.
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. On the details page you should see a row for **IP Address**.
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## Use tags to limit the number of jobs using the runner
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You must set up a runner to be able to run all the different types of jobs
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that it may encounter on the projects it's shared over. This would be
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problematic for large amounts of projects, if it weren't for tags.
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By tagging a runner for the types of jobs it can handle, you can make sure
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shared runners will [only run the jobs they are equipped to run](../yaml/README.md#tags).
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For instance, at GitLab we have runners tagged with `rails` if they contain
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the appropriate dependencies to run Rails test suites.
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When you [register a runner](https://docs.gitlab.com/runner/register/), its default behavior is to **only pick**
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[tagged jobs](../yaml/README.md#tags).
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To change this, you must have Owner [permissions](../../user/permissions.md#project-members-permissions) for the project.
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To make a runner pick untagged jobs:
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1. Go to the project's **Settings > CI/CD** and expand the **Runners** section.
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1. Find the runner you want to pick untagged jobs and make sure it's enabled.
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1. Click the pencil button.
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1. Check the **Run untagged jobs** option.
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1. Click the **Save changes** button for the changes to take effect.
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NOTE: **Note:**
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The runner tags list can not be empty when it's not allowed to pick untagged jobs.
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Below are some example scenarios of different variations.
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### runner runs only tagged jobs
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The following examples illustrate the potential impact of the runner being set
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to run only tagged jobs.
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Example 1:
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1. The runner is configured to run only tagged jobs and has the `docker` tag.
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1. A job that has a `hello` tag is executed and stuck.
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Example 2:
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1. The runner is configured to run only tagged jobs and has the `docker` tag.
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1. A job that has a `docker` tag is executed and run.
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Example 3:
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1. The runner is configured to run only tagged jobs and has the `docker` tag.
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1. A job that has no tags defined is executed and stuck.
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### runner is allowed to run untagged jobs
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The following examples illustrate the potential impact of the runner being set
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to run tagged and untagged jobs.
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Example 1:
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1. The runner is configured to run untagged jobs and has the `docker` tag.
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1. A job that has no tags defined is executed and run.
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1. A second job that has a `docker` tag defined is executed and run.
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Example 2:
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1. The runner is configured to run untagged jobs and has no tags defined.
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1. A job that has no tags defined is executed and run.
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1. A second job that has a `docker` tag defined is stuck.
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## System calls not available on GitLab.com shared runners
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GitLab.com shared runners run on CoreOS. This means that you cannot use some system calls, like `getlogin`, from the C standard library.
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